


Out of the Mountains

by VanishedElf



Category: taekook - Fandom, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Anal Sex, Cabin Sex, Elf jungkook, Fingering, First Time, Hand Jobs, Happy Ending, High Fantasy, Love, M/M, Smut, Virgin Kim Taehyung | V, bts fantasy au, dwarf taehyung, light angst and pining, mention of fantastical wars, taekook, vkook
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:27:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27873802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanishedElf/pseuds/VanishedElf
Summary: Taehyung drags an elf out of his river and saves him with some mouth to mouth.
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V
Comments: 54
Kudos: 147





	1. Chapter 1

“The fuck?”

Taehyung hopped over a boulder and landed on a mossy riverbank. He balanced a stick over his shoulder and peered at the thing tossing and turning in the current. Stuff was always getting stuck at this bend in the river—branches, driftwood, mounds of algae. It was a tight curve, and shallow too—but it was rare that anything _this_ big got jammed.

The object was wrapped in thin green fabric. There was a crossbow tangled in the mix, and a pair of leather boots, and oh my god, there was a _body_ jammed in the section of river that Taehyung was tasked with patrolling. He hurried forward, dropping his stick, and scrambled over a patch of slippery rocks towards the crook.

“Okay, so… I’m just going to…”

Taehyung found that rambling to himself helped calm him down in trying situations, like when the mines had overheated a couple years ago and he’d helped over thirty dwarves evacuate the lower levels, or when his grandfather had choked on an acorn and almost died, or that one morning when he forgot to restock his larder with butter and was forced to eat his bread dry.

“Just going to go for it, I guess.”

The intervention held true and strong, and his head was strangely clear as he reached forward and grabbed the body’s—person’s?—arm, dragging them closer to the shoreline. A flock of driftwood broke free and began to wander downstream. Taehyung puffed and heaved, and eventually, the waterlogged bundle was successfully deposited on a patch of grass.

“Best see if you’re alive.” His mouth twisted into an apprehensive frown. “Whatever you are.”

The mountains around the Kim mines were pretty benign, as far as magical mountains went, but there were still massive boars that pillaged the valleys in between, and the odd goblin crept through, tracking merchants along the mountain passes. Taehyung sincerely hoped this wasn’t a goblin. If the goblin was only half-dead, he _knew_ he was too much of a softy to let it die, but he really wasn’t in the mood to perform mouth-to-mouth on a goblin just then. Goblins were the worst.

He pulled at the green fabric, which seemed to be some kind of cloak, until it became disentangled from the person’s head. A thick head of pitch-black hair made itself known.

“Doesn’t seem very goblin-like to me,” he said hopefully. 

He pushed the person onto their back.

“Dekrebelle’s axe,” he spat.

The person lying before him had lean, muscular shoulders, an arching browline, and an attractive, albeit largish nose. His mouth was flushed pink and shaped a little like a rosebud. His lashes were thick, and his skin was a tan colour, which probably would’ve been even darker if he hadn’t been dunked in a cold freshet for god knows how long. The person lying in front of Taehyung was an _elf,_ and Taehyung knew that, as of this moment, he was pretty much fucked. 

There was just no way to win.

If he took the simplest course of action and went back to his cabin, drank some ale, and tried to forget this had happened—a very sensible and dwarfish thing to do— the elf might come looking for him later, or worse— _die,_ and his kin would hold Taehyung’s entire clan responsible, and the Kims would spend an indeterminate period—dwarves and elves both lived a very long time—locked in a feud with an unknown elf clan.

No, that definitely wasn’t favourable, but just say Taehyung attempted to save the elf’s life instead, and the elf woke up while Taehyung was trying to resuscitate him? Taehyung might end up shanked with one of the daggers lining the elf’s _very ornate_ leather belt. Why? Did elves ever need a reason to hate dwarves? Taehyung had never met an elf before, but this was what he’d been told.

“Well, fuck.”

With a clap, Taehyung realized that all of his agonized cogitating was basically futile if the elf was already dead. He reached forward quickly and placed a hand over the elf’s mouth. He couldn’t feel anything.

“Double fuck.”

He ripped open the elf’s tunic, showering the grass with small brown buttons, and gave the elf’s chest a couple pumps. Nothing happened. He cursed again, rolling the elf onto his side. Nothing happened.

“There’s nothing to be had for it,” he said, exasperated.

He rolled the elf back onto his back, pinched the elf’s nose, and pressed his mouth to the softest, coldest lips he’d ever felt in his entire life. He inhaled harshly through his nostrils, and then breathed a warm, living breath into a potentially chilled, dead body.

Or not.

The elf erupted into a fit of wet coughs. Taehyung jolted back, and the elf rolled onto his side, choking and spitting. Taehyung reached reflexively for his dagger, hand wavering over the hilt.

A long minute passed.

Perhaps his sisters and brothers had exaggerated a little about the vigor of elves. The elf wasn’t reaching for his dagger, readying an arrow and aiming it between Taehyung’s eyes with deadly precision. The elf didn’t really seem capable of breathing properly yet, let alone acknowledging Taehyung’s presence well enough to take offense to it.

More water dripped from the elf’s mouth. There was more guttural coughing. Taehyung’s hand jerked forward, tempted to give the elf a hardy pat to the back, but then he stopped himself, remembering that this wasn’t Namjoon choking on his fifth pint of ale at the pub he was dealing with.

“Curse of the stars,” the elf wheezed.

“Are you alright?”

The elf glanced up. His eyes were just as dark as his hair, which hung all the way down to his chest, which was quite prominent, given that the front of his tunic was ripped open. His lips were still a little purple, but some colour had returned to his cheeks.

“I’m Taehyung,” Taehyung said. “Of the Kim clan.”

“A dwarf.” The elf’s eyes roved over Taehyung’s body. “You’re remarkably pretty for a dwarf, aren’t you?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Aren’t dwarves supposed to be all stocky and hairy, and… you don’t even have a beard.”

“Not yet,” Taehyung said bitterly. “Maybe one day.”

The truth was, the Kims were renowned for two things. They’d discovered an alloy that was incredibly easy to fuse, and cooled into something hard and durable. As a result, they forged swords, daggers, and other metalworks that were famous across the lands. They were also renowned for the fact that they couldn’t grow beards. It was an eternal point of disgrace in Taehyung’s life.

“My brothers are plenty handsome, even without beards,” he added. “My sisters too.”

“Don’t get your hackles up. I don’t have a beard either.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“My name is Jungkook. I hope you don’t mind if I keep my allegiances to myself.”

Taehyung frowned. 

Jungkook leaned over and spat. He stared off into the forest for a moment, and then he rested his head down on the grass and sighed, closing his eyes.

“I thought elves were supposed to live forever.”

“I’m not dying, I’m just tired.” Jungkook chuckled weakly. “Besides, forever is a slippery concept. Just ask my mother.”

“I thought we weren’t going to talk about your family.”

“You’re right. We’re not.”

The stream frothed and babbled. Small finches chirped, fluttering between the trees. Clouds passed overhead, sending shadows across the canopy. Taehyung sat on his ass, fumbling with his dagger and staring at Jungkook.

“You can stop playing with that thing. I’m not going to attack you.”

“Your eyes are closed. How did you know I was—”

“Super-hearing.” Jungkook pointed to his ear, which, Taehyung noted, tapered off into a point much like his own.

“So the super-hearing is true.”

“I never said the immortality wasn’t.”

“So you _can_ live forever.”

“If we don’t die first.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“It’s simple. Take right now, for instance. If you hadn’t come along, I probably would’ve died. Then I would’ve been dead. But seeing as you saved me, I’m going to live. Maybe forever.” Jungkook groaned, rolling onto his back. More of his chest was exposed, and a small strip of his stomach too. “I’m too tired to talk philosophy. And too wet.”

Taehyung reluctantly let go of his dagger.

Jungkook’s thick lashes splayed out over oddly plump cheeks. His crossbow was squished underneath his back. It didn’t look very comfortable.

“Do you want to come back to my cabin to dry off?” Taehyung grunted.

“How hospitable of you.” A smirk ghosted across rosebud lips. “I thought you’d never ask.”

***

Taehyung helped Jungkook to his feet. Even all stooped over, it was clear that Jungkook was at least ten inches taller than him, and Taehyung’s frown deepened. They made their rambling way back up the slope, taking several pitstops so Jungkook could catch his breath.

“You’re really out of sorts, aren’t you?”

“I almost drowned,” Jungkook said, wearily, but not without a bite of competitiveness.

“How did you end up in the river anyway?”

“I tried leaping across that ravine further upstream. I didn’t make it.”

Taehyung stared at Jungkook with huge eyes. “You fell all the way down the ravine?”

“Verily.” Jungkook looked up and met Taehyung’s eye. He seemed pleased with Taehyung’s reaction. “Now drag me off this stump, will you, so we can get back.”

Grumbling, Taehyung gripped Jungkook’s armpits and pulled him to his feet. Lanky limbs smacked into Taehyung’s back. He wasn’t entirely convinced that Jungkook wasn’t putting it on a little. He _had_ fallen down a ravine into a _very_ shallow river, but this was an elf he was talking about, and elves were supposed to be basically invincible.

They reached the plateau where Taehyung’s cabin was wedged between two pine trees. The front path was strewn with needles. A creeping shrub with blue grapes wound its way around his porch.

Taehyung glanced to the left, and then the right.

“Nervous about your parents catching you bringing home an elf?”

“It wouldn’t be the most convenient thing to be seen with you.”

The coast was clear, except for a few stray squirrels, and maybe the odd sparrow. Taehyung hurried up the front path, basically dragging Jungkook across the porch, and awkwardly closed the door behind them, slamming it loudly by accident, given that his arms were busy trying not to drop Jungkook on the floor like a lanky sack of potatoes.

“You could make this a little easier.”

“I don’t see what you mean. I’m incapacitated.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He hauled Jungkook across the room and deposited him on the cot. The walls were lined with wooden shelves. One was stocked with folded blankets, jars, oils, and other necessities. There was a bookshelf next to the table. It was really the only room the cabin had, apart from a miniscule kitchen jammed in next to a closet.

Jungkook almost immediately began undressing.

“Oh,” Taehyung blurted.

“I’d ask you for spare clothes,” Jungkook said cheerfully, tossing his sodden leggings to the side, “but I doubt they’d fit. Suppose I’ll have to be naked until these dry.”

“I’m sure something would fit you.”

Jungkook cocked his head to the side. “Are you blushing?”

“No.” Taehyung shuffled his boots. “Maybe, but what’s it to you? Dwarves seldom go wandering around in just their skins.”

“That’s too bad. I’d highly recommend it.”

Jungkook placed his crossbow next to the growing heap of garments. His quiver was empty. Presumably he’d lost all his arrows when he fell. He gave his ripped tunic a sad little frown, tossed it onto the pile, and then flopped back onto the quilt with a sigh.

As Taehyung stood there, still in his boots, many a thought coursed through his mind.

First of all, he’d forgotten his walking stick down by the river. He wanted to go retrieve it, but he also didn’t want to leave Jungkook alone in his house. Taehyung had an enormous storing of rubies underneath the floorboards in his kitchen. There were two bags of dried mulberries Seokjin had brought back from the plains on the table to his left, as well as a small bag of gold, in plain view. One of the worst shames of a dwarf was to let oneself be robbed—perhaps second only to having no beard.

There was also the issue concerning where Taehyung was going to sleep tonight. Taehyung couldn’t see any broken bones on Jungkook’s body, but there were a few scratches, and given the way Jungkook was curling up in Taehyung’s bed like it was his own, Taehyung doubted Jungkook planned on leaving anytime soon.

“Well?” Jungkook asked. “Aren’t you forgetting your hospitality, Mister Dwarf?”

“Huh?”

“You haven’t inspected me yet.”

“Excuse me?”

“To see if I’m injured. For all your knowledge, I could have a mortal wound, bleeding out all over your cot this minute.”

“Your demeanour seems to indicate otherwise.”

“Elves are very persevering, even in the face of death.”

Taehyung heaved a sigh, and kicked his boots to the side. He stalked his way towards the cot that was _very much his,_ not sure why he was suddenly so wary of his own possessions, and knelt down beside it.

“I’m a maintenance worker, not a druid.”

“If I’m seeing correctly, you have two hands and two legs.” Jungkook’s pitchy eyes wandered over Taehyung’s body. “You have a head on your shoulders, two eyes in your face, skin, spit, probably a cock somewhere in those trousers, and an ass—” Jungkook raised an eyebrow—"and not a bad one, at that—just like me. Given these similarities, I think you’re more than qualified to deliver a basic examination.”

“Where in Welgroid’s name did you learn to speak so crassly?”

“Last time I checked, dwarves were anything but prudes.”

“Last time I checked, elves were ethereal beings who sat around staring at stars all day, speaking in lyric and song—”

“Oh Virlar,” Jungkook cackled. “That’s a load of shit if there ever was one.”

Taehyung continued to stare at Jungkook. Jungkook stared back.

“You seem fine,” Taehyung said.

“That’s what I thought too. And then I was stupid enough to fall down a ravine.”

Taehyung furrowed his brow.

“Oh, please, just get your hands on me before my shit-talking turns macabre. Neither one of us needs that right now.”

Taehyung knew what his father would say at this moment. _Get your head on straight. Get it together._ Something like that, but with far more expletives, and various references to sturdier, hardier dwarves that had come before and that each self-respecting dwarf of the present day should strive to model themselves upon.

As much as Taehyung understood where his father was coming from, he’d always had a hard time applying such gruff philosophies to his own life. Taehyung’s reticence about the goblin hadn’t been unwarranted because yes, he one-hundred-percent would’ve ended up giving mouth-to-mouth to a goblin if the goblin was going to die, because yes, he was a terrible softy, so much so that his mother attributed his pretty looks to the softness of his soul.

He couldn’t help but notice that Jungkook seemed a little forlorn, underneath all his glib jests, and for all his suspicions, knowing this made him a little forlorn too.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t have fallen down the ravine on any other day.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Jungkook muttered. “I can be pretty daft.”

Taehyung let out a slow sigh. And then, reticently, he reached out and took Jungkook’s hand.

“Does it hurt here?” he grunted, squishing Jungkook’s palm with both thumbs. How he wished he’d thought to shut the blinds.

Jungkook turned to look at him, as if startled. It lasted for only a fleeting moment, before settling into something serene, equable, unreadable, and very elflike in Taehyung’s mind.

“No, that feels fine.”

“And here?” Taehyung carefully tested Jungkook’s wrist, moving his hand up and down.

Jungkook bit his lip, thinking for a moment. “No, I believe that’s alright too.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes. Jungkook continued to stare at him.

Taehyung sighed again.

And then he kept going.

“How about the forearm?”

“Feels good.”

“And this shoulder?”

“Also good.”

Jungkook rolled onto his stomach so Taehyung could inspect his back. Taehyung ran his fingers along Jungkook’s shoulder blades, his spine, down to his hips, making sure nothing was out of place. Jungkook’s face was pressed into a pillow, and without Jungkook staring at him, Taehyung was finding it a little easier to focus on his task in a level-headed manner.

Jungkook did have a rather lovely body, however.

His arms were tucked under his face, accentuating the musculature in his shoulders and neck. His waist was slender. His thighs looked strong. Taehyung wondered how someone managed to become so built while retaining such soft skin. His own hands were rough and calloused. His feet were the same. Everything he used became worn and rugged, but it did not seem to be the case for Jungkook.

“Thoughts?” Jungkook asked, wriggling his hips. “Is it as nice as yours? Nicer?”

Taehyung grabbed Jungkook by the hips and flipped him face up. Jungkook was laughing breathlessly.

“You’re so red.”

“It was medical,” Taehyung said, “and then you had to open your mouth again.”

“Are you saying you can’t appreciate a nice ass?”

“It isn’t broken, and that’s good enough for me.”

“Unbroken isn’t exactly the way I’d describe it.”

Taehyung tossed a blanket over Jungkook’s face and moved on to his ribs.

There didn’t seem to be any internal bleeding. No bruising, except on Jungkook’s left knee and shoulder. Taehyung slid his thumbs down Jungkook’s hipbones. He gripped the sides and tested his pelvis. It seemed intact. He was about to move onto his legs when he noticed—

“Um.”

“Your hands feel nice,” Jungkook said quickly. His voice was muffled from behind the blanket. He hadn’t pushed it away for some reason. “They’re like pumice stones from a volcano.”

“I’ve never been to a volcano.”

“But you’ve travelled?”

“Not really.”

“Someone with your face?” Jungkook emerged, pushing up onto his forearms. The blanket slid to the side. “You could travel the world for free with that face.”

“I know,” Taehyung mumbled. “But I like it here.”

“You know?” Jungkook laughed incredulously.

“Yes, I know.” Taehyung gave Jungkook’s thigh a squeeze, no longer inspecting him so much as playing with the nearest thing at hand to get his mind off things. “I’ve been told I’m beautiful my whole life. It’s nice, I guess, but I don’t want to leave the mines.”

“So your fellow dwarves told you the same thing I did?”

“Basically. They wanted me to go on a journey. They thought, with my looks and my height, I might bring back a fortune or something.”

“Even without a beard?”

Taehyung scowled. “Yes. Even without a beard.”

“I mean, I don’t disagree.”

“I can see that.”

It was nowhere near as violent as one of Taehyung’s blushes, but a slight redness tinged Jungkook’s cheeks.

“You ask me to inspect you in the nude, and then, when I make reference to—to _this_ ,” Taehyung gestured downwards, to Jungkook’s groin, which had in no way ameliorated itself, “you blush. How can you find it within yourself to be embarrassed when you act like this?”

“I suppose hearing that I find you beautiful might seem a little overdone,” Jungkook said, ignoring Taehyung entirely. “Maybe even boring—”

“No,” Taehyung said quickly. “I wouldn’t say that.”

Jungkook stared at Taehyung until Taehyung was blushing so hard even his neck was red. 

“Not everything has to be a contest,” Taehyung mumbled.

“You’re quite passive for a dwarf.”

“You’re quite garrulous for an elf.”

“I thought you’d never met an elf before.”

“Well, that’s true.” Taehyung’s eyes wandered over Jungkook’s collar bones. “If there’s one good thing to be said for all this, now I know what elves are actually like.” 

“Would you like to know a little more?”

Taehyung’s eyes jerked to Jungkook’s face. Jungkook was still propped up on his elbows. The sun was beginning to set. A stray sunbeam wandered through the pines, lighting up the floorboards beside them, illuminating half of Jungkook’s face with ochre light.

“What do you mean?”

Jungkook tilted his head to the side. Taehyung’s heart was pounding in his chest.

“I think, Mister Dwarf… you know what I mean.” 

Taehyung stood up, dusting his hands off on his pants. 

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to get my walking stick.”

Taehyung closed the door behind him and set off down the path.

The forest around the Kim Mines was mainly pine, with the odd patch of maple woven in. In the fall, walking through one of those groves was like stepping into a world of crimson, a miniature dome of radical colour in a sea of forest green. It was spring now, but Taehyung found himself reminiscing the way the trees cast fiery light over the forest floor during those times, much like the way the setting sun had lit up Jungkook’s face.

His walking stick was leaning against the boulder where he’d left it. He picked it up, turning the rough wood in his hands.

Taehyung was still young. He’d seen his fiftieth birthday pass last winter. Fifty was young for a dwarf. There was still time… but sometimes it didn’t feel like it. It had been many years that Taehyung had been living in the same cabin, presiding over the same section of forest. As he’d gotten older, the comments urging him to embark on a prosperous adventure had gradually lessened.

So had the comments urging him to find a wife.

He considered hiking up to the ravine, completing the route he’d been on when he discovered Jungkook floating in the riverbend. He sat down on the boulder instead.

Some time later, he made his way back up to the cabin.

He pushed through the door, fully prepared to find his cot empty, his kitchen pilfered, his gold purloined, and maybe even his rubies too.

“That was a rather long stick-retrieval mission.”

Taehyung glanced to his right, and then sighed, crossing the room and throwing himself into the armchair next to the cot. He made sure to close the blinds on the way.

“I’m sorry I—” both of them began at the same time.

Taehyung waited politely for Jungkook to continue. Jungkook stared at Taehyung with the same probing look as always.

“Oh, well,” Taehyung said bashfully. “I’m sorry I left so quickly.”

“It’s alright.” Jungkook stretched out, with a groan. Taehyung noticed he’d draped the blanket over himself. “I was being silly.”

Jungkook stared at the ceiling. His long black hair was matted around his head in tangled clumps. He really was kind of ethereal, with his twinkling earrings, flawless skin, and pronounced eyebrows, but he also looked a little tired.

“I always do that,” Jungkook continued, shaking his head. “Seeking pleasure. Making light of things.”

“Listen,” Taehyung said laboriously. “It’s my fault. Anyone else would’ve jumped at the opportunity, but I’m… I’ve just… always been very bad at things like that.”

“Things like what?”

“Easy things. Fast things, like what you were proposing.”

“And what exactly was I proposing?”

Taehyung stared at the floor.

“It was stupid,” Jungkook said quickly. “You’re a dwarf. I’m an elf. You probably want me out of your cabin, for god’s sakes, and instead there I am asking you to—”

“No, it’s not—”

“Really, I’m such a god-damned imbecile sometimes—”

Jungkook pushed himself up into a sitting position, and his face contorted. Taehyung rushed over and eased him back down.

“Please,” Taehyung groaned, “be careful.” 

“I’m… I’m fine.”

Taehyung chewed his bottom lip. He’d inspected Jungkook’s entire body, but he really didn’t know a thing about medicine. What if he’d missed something? What if Jungkook’s injuries had worsened while Taehyung was down at the river?

“I could get the healer to look at you.”

“No, no,” Jungkook groaned, repositioning himself on the pillow. “It’s just a sore muscle. It’ll be better in the morning.”

“What if you die in the night?”

“I’m not going to die. Besides, do you really want the whole village knowing you’re harbouring an elf? I’ve already caused you enough mortification for one day, don’t you think?”

He rolled onto his side. His back was facing Taehyung.

Taehyung took a moment to process Jungkook’s words. Yes, he was harbouring an elf. He hadn’t completed his route for the day, either. If Namjoon, Seokjin, or any of his siblings found out, they wouldn’t be very pleased with him. That was true, but as for the mortification, it gave him a sickly feeling pinning that entirely on his visitor.

“Would you like any dinner?” he offered tentatively.

“Not hungry, really.”

Taehyung frowned. He got up, rummaged around one of his shelves for a while, and then came and sat down on the edge of the cot.

“What are you doing?”

“Brushing your hair.”

“What—” Jungkook angled his neck, trying to look. “Why?”

“Stop moving. You might strain something.”

Jungkook paused, staring at the wall. He kept inhaling, as if to speak, but nothing ended up coming out. Taehyung zeroed in on one of the nastier tangles and started working away at it.

Jungkook fell silent. Taehyung brushed one clump out after the next, until Jungkook’s hair became sleek and wavy, and the cabin was almost entirely pitch-black. Taehyung got up and lit the lamps. He retrieved a jug of water from the kitchen, as well as several apples and a loaf of bread, loaded it all next to the cot, and then he went to take a piss out back.

When he returned, Jungkook was examining the comb.

“I bought it at a market,” Taehyung said. “Human traders stop by our village sometimes.”

“Who made it?”

“They weren’t sure if it was elves or sprites.”

“A mystery comb…” Jungkook placed the comb down next to his bow. “For a mystery dwarf.”

Taehyung tossed his overcoat onto the armchair, and then his belt. He left his trousers on, though, as well as his inner tunic, and then he sat down on top of all of it. 

“You’re sleeping there?”

“I figured I might.”

“You can sleep beside me if you want.”

“Dekrebelle’s axe,” Taehyung muttered.

A couple minutes passed in silence. Taehyung shuffled around on the armchair. The clasps on the jacket kept digging into his back. After a moment, he heaved a sigh and stood up.

Jungkook held the quilt open for him.

Taehyung shuffled onto the cot, lying on his back. Jungkook dropped the quilt, but not before Taehyung caught a glimpse of his slender hips. Jungkook’s hips, the tapestries on the walls, the books on the shelves; everything seemed to dance in the flickering light.

Taehyung blew the candle out.

“Why did you brush my hair?” Jungkook asked softly.

“I’ve always heard elves are vain. I figured it might cheer you up.”

Jungkook laughed.

In the darkness, when it was just their voices, it was easier to forget that Jungkook was an elf and Taehyung was a dwarf. It was easier to forget that Jungkook was ten inches taller, and that Taehyung was supposed to resent him for his abstruse, supercilious ways. It was easier to forget a lot of things… like the fact that Taehyung had only known Jungkook for five or six hours, and that soon, the elf’s muscles would be mended and he would be gone.

Soon, Jungkook would be gone, life would resume as normal, and none of the torments in Taehyung’s mind would matter in the least… and yet, try as he might, he could not seem to let them go.

“You didn’t mortify me,” he whispered.

“You seemed pretty mortified,” Jungkook whispered back.

“I mortified myself.”

There was a moment of silence. It was a still night. Something scurried over the deck. Perhaps a mouse.

“What are you trying to say, Taehyung?”

Jungkook’s voice was a little squashed. There wasn’t an ounce of mockery in his tone. Perhaps the darkness was starting to get to him, too.

“I’m saying that…” Taehyung’s voice was barely audible. “Maybe I wish I hadn’t gone to get my stick when I did.”

Jungkook was silent.

“Fuck,” Taehyung sighed. “I found an elf in the riverbend. He almost drowned, could’ve broken his back falling down the ravine, but didn’t—which is outrageous in and of itself. I brought him back to my cabin, I don’t even know where he’s from. Really, I should be trying to figure out if he’s plotting something, maybe he’s a spy, but instead, I’m—” 

“Taehyung.”

Taehyung swallowed. “Yes?”

“Turn your head this way.”

Jungkook’s voice was soft, compelling, like a melody played on a mellow pipe. Taehyung turned his head to the side. Jungkook’s fingers slid up the side of his face.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

Jungkook pressed his lips to Taehyung’s. Even in the dark, Taehyung imagined it—the way it would look; Jungkook’s mouth, softening against his own. Would his eyes be open or closed? Would his brow be furrowed or relaxed?

Taehyung inhaled slowly, and then gasped. Jungkook smelled incredibly sweet. There was a hint of sweat, yes, but it was a light, buoyant sweatiness, mingled with fresh air and something floral. Taehyung’s lips parted, and Jungkook pushed closer.

“Oh,” Jungkook hissed, seizing up.

“Are you alright?”

“I sure talk a big game, don’t I?” Jungkook laughed faintly. “I wish I’d known I was going to get all stiff and sore.”

“Please, lie back down. You need to heal.”

Jungkook exhaled slowly. “I wanted to show you a good time.”

“Because I saved you?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Jungkook pulled at the collar of Taehyung’s tunic. “Maybe I just want to. I’m not sure, Taehyung.” He laughed. “Who wouldn’t want to take the virginity of a handsome dwarf like you?” 

Taehyung covered his face with both hands. It felt like every organ in his body was going to turn inside out.

“Ignore me,” Jungkook said.

“How?” Taehyung blurted. “You’re impossible.” 

Jungkook sighed.

“What are you thinking about now?”

“I’m trying to figure out how to make this work.”

“Stop,” Taehyung groaned. “I’ve never done it, but I’m not stupid, and any sort of configuration is going to jostle you around, I know that much.”

Jungkook was silent for another long moment.

“What if we touch each other?”

“Uh…”

“Just… I know it isn’t exactly what most people count as _the experience,_ but in my mind, these things don’t have to be so black and white.”

“That would be nice,” Taehyung said, with some difficulty.

“Very well.” Jungkook pushed the blanket down, slightly, and then reached up, pulling at the topmost button of Taehyung’s shirt. Taehyung pushed his hand away and did it for him, and then pulled his shirt off over his head.

“Very good, and now your trousers,” Jungkook said.

“I know how to get undressed.”

“Just making sure.”

Taehyung’s braies dropped to the floor. He was glad for the fact that they were lying down, so their height difference was less pronounced. He felt short in the presence of an elf, but too scrawny to be a proper dwarf. His body was muscular, a little stocky, but still quite slender. There was a reason he liked to keep his clothes on most of the time.

“Adfir’s son, are you sure you aren’t half elf?”

Taehyung frowned.

“Why are you pouting this time?”

“What are you looking at?” Taehyung asked. “It’s pitch dark in here.”

“Elves can see in the dark.”

“Well, fuck. That doesn’t seem fair to me.”

“Go ahead, light a candle.”

Taehyung shivered. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Jungkook. Although he knew Jungkook could see him, he felt safer in the dark… cloaked. Perhaps he didn’t want to see himself.

“Maybe next time,” Taehyung mumbled. 

Jungkook’s shuffled a little closer. Their thighs brushed together and Taehyung’s jaw tightened. Jungkook inhaled again, as if to speak, but then he reached out instead, seeking out Taehyung’s hand under the blanket.

Something howled in the distance. The moon was almost full, and a faint glow was beginning to appear around the edges of the blinds. Jungkook brought Taehyung’s hand to his waist.

“Oh, you’re so soft,” Taehyung said, low and hoarse.

“So are you.”

And then, for all his chatty ways, Jungkook’s words seemed to drop away. He guided Taehyung’s hand lower. He groaned softly. His fingers trailed over Taehyung’s chest, trembling.

They were strangers, and yet, Taehyung felt a certain comfort, knowing they’d played an equal part in this mad plan. And beyond power, beyond the skittish question of _whose fault is this,_ there was a deeper sense of familiarity that resisted explanation.

Jungkook’s hands were on him too, now, and Taehyung was kissing Jungkook’s face, just next to his mouth. It seemed to go on for a while. Taehyung suspected Jungkook could’ve finished a lot faster by some other means, but he didn’t seem to mind Taehyung’s clumsy ways either.

And then it was over; first for Jungkook, and then Taehyung. They remained like that, foreheads pressed together, gasping softly into each other’s faces.

For the first time in his life, Taehyung fell asleep with someone else in his bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Taehyung woke up the next morning, slowly, as he always did; much like the sunlight that found its way over the towering mountains, hovering leisurely over misty treetops, twinkling upon the surface of freshets like a shimmering dross.

He turned to his left, and what could have easily been a dream stepped across that liminal border once more, into the reality that was Taehyung’s morning; for Jungkook was curled up on his side, onyx locks tumbling about his face, and his sleepy gaze was locked on Taehyung.

They lay like that for an indeterminate amount of time, looking into each other’s eyes. It was hard to tell which one of them was more astonished by the other’s presence. The way Jungkook’s eyes kept moving between Taehyung’s, the way his mouth was pursed slightly, bringing out the plumpness of his bottom lip, led Taehyung to believe that Jungkook was quite surprised to find himself here, even after all that had occurred the day before. Perhaps the night had consolidated the madness of it all into something more conceivable, and hence something far more real.

Taehyung wanted to brush the stray hairs out of Jungkook’s eyes. He wanted to lean over and kiss him in the early glow of morning, unmasked by the shadows of the night. But instead, he rasped, “Hello,” and Jungkook began to laugh.

“You need to eat.” Taehyung pushed himself into a sitting position. “You won’t heal if you don’t eat.”

“What I need is a bath.”

“I think you smell fine.”

“Is that so?”

Taehyung wondered if Jungkook’s sweet scent was as pleasing to other elves as it was to Taehyung, or if they all smelled like that. Perhaps he only smelled so heavenly to Taehyung because Taehyung was accustomed to the gritty ways of dwarves. Such a possibility did not play well to Taehyung’s favour. He lifted his own armpit and gave it a sniff.

“It isn’t just about smells,” Jungkook said, clearly trying not to laugh. “A sponge bath would also loosen up my muscles.”

“Ah, a _sponge_ bath. And I’m supposing you’ll need someone to administer that, will you?”

The sun was already over the trees, and the mist was burning off. Taehyung needed to leave soon to complete his circuit up the river valley. He ate an apple while heating water on the stove. He mixed in a couple drops of lavender oil, returned to the living room, and pulled a towel down from one of the shelves.

Jungkook had pushed himself up to a sitting position. He was stretching one of his arms and grimacing.

“How do you feel?”

“Sore.”

Taehyung knelt on the floor, pushed an apple into Jungkook’s hand, and wet the towel in the basin. Jungkook huffed in protest, but as Taehyung began to scrub his back, he took a bite.

“And here I was wondering if elves had a digestive tract at all.”

“We can eat quite a lot, normally. Especially during harvest season. The feasts are magnificent. There are roasted squashes with oil and herbs, fresh peas, nuts of all shapes and sizes…”

“That sounds delicious.”

“You should come sometime.” Jungkook turned around stiffly, and winked. “My parents would love you.”

Taehyung snorted.

“How are you feeling, anyway?” Jungkook eyed Taehyung up and down. “Mister no-longer-a-virgin Dwarf?”

“Oh, shut up.”

Taehyung shoved the towel underneath Jungkook’s armpit. Jungkook shrieked.

“Tell me,” Jungkook laughed breathlessly. “I want to know—do you feel any different?”

“Of course I feel different. I’m blowing off work for the second day in a row to give an elf a sponge bath. My whole world is upside down.”

Jungkook turned around so Taehyung could scrub his front. He chewed his apple noisily and regarded Taehyung in a vaguely contemptuous way.

“You should really learn to keep your mouth shut.”

“Why?” Jungkook spread his legs. Taehyung scrubbed lower, avoiding Jungkook’s eye. “Would you rather life be boring and predictable?” 

“I’m not sure anymore.”

Jungkook finished the apple, core and all, and then reached for the jug. His arms shook as he lifted it to his mouth, sipping water until it trickled down his neck. More colour had returned to his face. Taehyung tried not to smile. 

“Hmm.” Jungkook brushed his nose against his own arm. “I smell like you now.”

“Well that’s a relief.”

Taehyung was, of course, referring to the fact that Jungkook thought Taehyung smelled like water and lavender oil. Given the way some of Taehyung’s siblings smelled, it could’ve been a lot worse.

Taehyung set off an hour late, leaving Jungkook with a stack of books, more water, and a small chamber pot his grandfather had given him for his twentieth birthday. He hiked down to the river, following the narrow shoreline up to the ravine. He discovered a few arrows along the way, trapped in mounds of moss, stuck in between rocks.

He ate his lunch on a mossy stump next to a cliff. He chewed mouthfuls of bread and butter, and looked out over the valley. He could see smoke and steam rising from the mines in great billowing clouds. A large bird flapped its way across the valley, perhaps an owl that was late to bed.

He carried on up the path, trying to focus on the delicate flowers growing out of the moss, the squirrels chattering overhead. It wasn’t easy. Hiking further into the forest, away from Jungkook and his devilish ways, felt incredibly taxing, almost to the point of being unnatural.

But he needed to complete the circuit. It was spring, and the mountain was melting, loosening old undergrowth and logs from their icy bowers. If something tumbled into the river, blocking its flow, it would cut off the supply of water to the mines, potentially ruining the metals that needed to be cooled, or worse, causing the mines to overheat, suffocating the dwarves working below.

Taehyung’s job was mundane in practice, but quite critical in the big picture; so, he forced himself to finish his day’s work, hiking all the way to the border that demarcated the next dwarf’s zone and back again.

The sun was already beginning to set when the cabin appeared around the corner. There were no lights on inside. It looked empty. Taehyung’s chest felt tight.

He pushed his way inside.

Jungkook was leaning against the wall, dressed in one of Taehyung’s shirts. He was reading one of Taehyung’s books. His expression was neutral to the point of being masklike.

“Here,” Taehyung said, dropping his bag and going around, lighting the lamps.

“Elves can see in the dark, remember?” Jungkook smiled. “I saw all kinds of things last night.”

“I’m sure elves can appreciate some pleasant ambience, magical eyes or not.”

Taehyung kicked his boots off and went out back, filling a bucket with water and taking a shower. It was a brisk evening, and he hadn’t bothered to heat the water beforehand, but even before he stepped under the bucket his skin was covered in goosebumps.

He washed the mushrooms he’d picked that day and fried them in oil with tree nuts and herbs from the garden. As the food cooked, he puttered around, washing Jungkook’s clothes and hanging them up outside. Jungkook lounged on the cot the whole time, engrossed in his reading.

“Do you think you can eat at the table?”

Jungkook thought for a moment. “Let’s try.”

Taehyung laid out bread, butter, and several candles. It was his first proper meal in days, and he wanted to do it right. He craved the sense of domesticity the ritual engendered. Once everything was in place, he found the biggest pair of trousers he owned, tightening them around Jungkook’s narrow waist with a belt, and helped him to the table.

Jungkook settled into the chair with a sigh. He looked tiny in Taehyung’s tunic. Jungkook fetched him a piece of string. He tied his hair back from his face and he looked even tinier. Taehyung loaded Jungkook’s plate with food, and Jungkook began to slowly, but steadily eat it. Jungkook, for all his mouthy ways, was oddly receptive to Taehyung’s fretting.

“I found some of your arrows.”

Jungkook examined the arrows, running his fingers through the snarled fletching. He set them on the table, next to the frying pan, like a war-themed centerpiece, and continued to glance at them throughout the meal.

“What were you reading?”

“I was reading about your mines. I never knew metal could be used in so many ways.”

“It’s very precise.”

“Did you ever work in the mines?”

“For a short time.” Taehyung took a sip of ale. “The clanging, the smells… it started to get to me.”

He half-expected Jungkook to tease him, but Jungkook merely nodded.

“I can understand that. Industry… war… it pales in comparison to the simplicity of nature.”

Taehyung thought about the blooms he’d seen on his walk today, and the chirping finches. He thought about the tracks he’d spotted in a maple glade, large and flat, probably a bear. He thought about how much awe he would have ordinarily felt for these things, but how, over the course of one day, the peace in his heart had been stolen away by something else.

“Would you consider elves to be part of nature?” he asked, tentatively.

“Yes and no. I mean, we derive most of our magic from nature. That’s what keeps it relatively pure. Should an elf wish to practice magic that doesn’t align with the ancient forces, they must first locate an alternate source of power.”

“Like a sorcerer.”

“Precisely.” Jungkook’s eyes slid to the arrows once more. “Although, elves are not without their earthly concerns.”

“Neither are squirrels.”

Jungkook laughed softly.

Taehyung refilled Jungkook’s glass and then began clearing the table. The air maundering in the window was sweet, and as much as Taehyung wanted to sit with Jungkook, musing about the world, magic, and other hidden and complicated things, he had another day of work ahead of him tomorrow. He massaged Jungkook’s neck for a couple minutes, and then helped him back to the cot.

Jungkook stripped out of his clothing and slipped under the quilt with a sigh. A single candle bobbed on a dish next to the bed. Taehyung lay on his back. Jungkook was turned away from him.

Taehyung’s mind ached from the day’s simplicity. So many words had been exchanged between them that night, but nothing concerning what had happened… what _was_ happening… what was to come. Taehyung wondered if Jungkook cared at all. Perhaps he lived his life in a state of constant whimsy. Perhaps he would laugh in Taehyung’s face if he knew the ways Taehyung had been tormenting himself all day. 

He opened his mouth, about to speak, and then he heard a small sound. He turned slightly, listening closer. If Jungkook were snoring, Taehyung would do his best to hold his peace until the morning. Jungkook needed to heal.

Jungkook sucked in a shuddering breath, and then moaned.

“Jungkook?” Taehyung turned onto his side.

Another small sound.

“Are you in pain?”

Jungkook sniffled wetly.

Taehyung waited for an answer. Jungkook was silent for a long interval; and then, he burst into tears.

“Oh, no.”

Taehyung wrapped his arms around Jungkook from behind. Jungkook hid his face in his hands and began to weep.

Taehyung was violently reminded that Jungkook, before he came crashing into Taehyung’s life, had an entire life of his own. He had a last name, kinfolk, and a story that stretched many years—perhaps hundreds, given his race. Who knew what sorrows had brought him tumbling down into Taehyung’s ravine?

“It’s okay,” Taehyung soothed. He didn’t know what else to do. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I’m a terrible elf,” Jungkook sobbed. He’d begun to shake. “I’m a craven, I don’t deserve any of your graces—”

“Deserving or not, they’re yours.”

Jungkook shuffled around in Taehyung’s arms until he was facing him. Taehyung smoothed his thumbs over Jungkook’s cheekbones, wiping away his tears. Jungkook gulped, and then he pushed closer, pressing his wet, trembling lips against Taehyung’s.

Taehyung tangled his fingers in Jungkook’s hair. He kissed Jungkook until his face was covered in Jungkook’s tears too. Jungkook panted against Taehyung’s mouth. He’d finally stopped crying, but his eyebrows continued to arch upwards in distress. His eyes were closed.

“Would you tell me what’s wrong?”

“There’s something I must do,” Jungkook whispered. “But I’m too afraid to do it.”

Taehyung ran his thumb along Jungkook’s lower lip, his chin. He kissed his eyelid, his nose. Jungkook’s face shone with sweat, tears, spit, but he was still the most beautiful thing Taehyung had ever seen.

Part of Taehyung wanted to tell Jungkook that it was okay. He didn’t have to worry about those things anymore. He could stay here with Taehyung for as long as he liked, locked away, safe from the world and its grievances. But the thing was, Jungkook had brought a lot more to Taehyung’s lonely life than a taste of physical intimacy and companionship. Taehyung had begun to wonder what other marvels were out there; things he couldn’t even conceive of… feelings he never thought he’d feel, like the way he felt about Jungkook.

If Jungkook was part of that distant world, Taehyung didn’t want to steal him away like some prize, drawing him into solitude, tainting him with the mundanity that was Taehyung’s existence. He wanted to set Jungkook free, to return to whichever empyrean realms he’d descended from; and, wretched, domestic, and sheltered as he was, he dared to imagine somehow treading in those places at Jungkook’s side.

And so, he decided to help Jungkook with this; even if it meant one day saying goodbye, should Taehyung fail to measure up to these fantastical things he was envisioning.

“Whatever it is,” he muttered, “I know you can do it.”

Jungkook swallowed, blinking back more tears. Taehyung studied the way his eyelashes splayed into perfect half-stars. He listened to the way his deep, sandy voice cracked a few times, as he struggled to form words, and Taehyung’s chest ached so profoundly, he swore he could feel his lungs twisting themselves into knots. 

“Thanks,” Jungkook said at last, blurting it out, fragile and shaky.

Taehyung pulled Jungkook against him. Jungkook pressed his nose to Taehyung’s chest, and cried some more, and then he reached down, pushing Taehyung’s braies down.

It was similar to the night before—a mess of hands, clumsy kisses, and closed eyes. Except, this time, a single candle illumed their ventures, and Taehyung dared to steal a few glances at Jungkook’s face, particularly when one of those sweet, tense sounds escaped him. Jungkook wove his fingers through Taehyung’s, showing him a rhythm he liked, and when it was Taehyung’s turn, and Taehyung was tipping over into Jungkook’s hand, Taehyung opened his eyes, and he wondered if Jungkook had looked at him like that the night before, in the darkness Taehyung’s eyes could not pervade. 

He vowed to light a candle the rest of the nights Jungkook stayed with him. Jungkook suggested he light five. Jungkook laughed at Taehyung’s bashful expression, and then he began to cry again, and Taehyung read him more about the mines until he fell asleep.

And in this sense, on their second night together, Taehyung learned a little more about Jungkook, even though he didn’t yet know his last name or what country he hailed from.

***

The next morning, Jungkook was feeling well enough to follow Taehyung down to the river. It was a risk, parading him around like that, but Taehyung was glad to bring him along if it meant not having to wonder if he was still going to be there when he got home.

Taehyung had folded Jungkook’s clothes and left them next to the cot, but upon rising, Jungkook dressed himself from Taehyung’s closet instead. He wandered his way along the shoreline, gripping branches and roots to steady himself. The tunic he’d borrowed was both undersized and oversized in different ways, and every time he lifted his arms, Taehyung caught glimpses of his torso, his hips. His arms were swimming.

“Be careful. We don’t want another drowning episode.”

“I’m not sure, I kind of liked it when you resuscitated me.”

Taehyung snorted. He’d grown a little more accustomed to Jungkook’s crass tongue, but only slightly. His cheeks warmed at the memory.

“The Kim clan is well known for its swords, is it not?”

“Swords, daggers, armour,” Taehyung said. “Window frames, door knobs…” 

“Do dwarves fight many wars?”

“The Kims haven’t for at least a century, but it’s Namjoon’s belief that even when things are peaceful, it’s best to be well-prepared.”

“Sounds like a practical man, this Namjoon.”

“He’s a good king.”

Jungkook opened his mouth, as if to speak, but then he leapt over a log instead. His legs gave out when he landed and he tumbled ass-first onto the grass. Taehyung hurried over, only to discover that Jungkook was laughing himself breathless.

Jungkook’s legs were still weak, but each day that passed, he improved. They hiked farther on the fifth day, past the border of Taehyung’s zone to a crest overlooking the valley. Taehyung explained how the Kims were partnered with the dwarves one mountain over, which was ruled over by a king named Min Yoongi. Namjoon’s mountain was rich in copper, whereas Yoongi mined tin. They traded minerals so that they could create their famous alloy.

“When you go back to your homeland, don’t go telling your elf friends about our trade routes,” Taehyung said. “We have enough trouble with the goblins as it is.”

Taehyung had taken to speaking openly about Jungkook’s departure. Jungkook had been with him for almost a week. He had recovered enough that he was scaling the mountain paths faster than Taehyung. Taehyung suspected his return was as near as it was inevitable.

Jungkook hummed, avoiding the topic as usual.

“Just say,” he said, pointing to the pathway ahead of them, “Namjoon came walking around that bend right now.”

“Oh fuck,” Taehyung laughed. “I’d have to be honest.”

“What would you say?”

“Well.” Taehyung thought for a moment. “I’d tell him I’d made a new friend, and he was staying with me for the next little while.”

“And if he told you that you weren’t allowed to consort with elves?”

Taehyung’s voice softened to something deep and quiet. “I’d tell him I like this elf very much, and so to please mind his own business.”

Jungkook turned.

The ground outside Taehyung’s cabin was relatively even. Jungkook had brushed the upper portion of his hair back into a loose braid. The rest of it stirred around his shoulders in the evening breeze. Even in his flat brown boots, he stood almost a foot taller than Taehyung. The winding forest paths made it easier to ignore. Taehyung dropped his eyes.

“Look at me, Taehyung.”

Taehyung glanced up, chewing his bottom lip.

Jungkook took a step towards him.

“Why are you looking away?”

“I feel foolish.”

“Why?”

“Thinking these things about you.” 

“Tae.” Jungkook searched Taehyung’s eyes. “Can you not see what I’m thinking?”

“Part of me does.” Taehyung shuffled his feet. “But then I think… I must be going crazy.”

Jungkook angled his head lower, and kissed Taehyung on the lips.

“If you’re going crazy, so am I,” Jungkook whispered.

Taehyung placed his hands on Jungkook’s waist. Jungkook rested his hands on Taehyung’s shoulders, and then his chest. A blue jay screeched overhead.

“And what about you? What would you do, if one of your elf kin soared down from the trees, right now?”

“I’d tell them to keep their hands off. This handsome dwarf is all mine.”

Taehyung chuckled, and then pulled Jungkook into his arms. Jungkook held on tight, arms draped over Taehyung’s shoulders.

“I like you too, Taehyung.” Jungkook’s words danced along with the shadows cast upon them by the shifting canopy. “Whatever fate awaits us, this will always be true.”

A gentle rain blew through the mountains that night.

Taehyung slept, wrapped in Jungkook’s arms. The pines sheltered the cabin from most of the downfall, but raindrops pattered gently on the porch. Small, fuzzy creatures collected underneath the awning, neither bird nor rodent, chattering softly amongst themselves. At some point in the night a large beast, perhaps the bear who had left the tracks in the maple grove, lumbered past. An owl hooted from the trees.

The rain carried on into morning.

Taehyung awoke before sunrise. He dragged himself out back, pissing off the deck, and then gulped down a cup of water. He returned to bed, shivering.

“You smell like the forest,” Jungkook murmured. “And rain.”

“It’s coming down harder.”

Jungkook crawled to the corner, pissed in the chamber pot, and crawled back.

“You’ve really taken a liking to that thing.”

“Tell your grandfather thanks, if he’s still alive.”

“I will. I’m sure he’ll be elated.”

Jungkook tossed his leg over Taehyung’s hips and snuggled in close. Taehyung made a rumbling sound at the back of his throat, sliding his hand lower.

“Do we have time?” Jungkook asked, breathless.

“It’s still early.”

“Never had you in the morning.”

Taehyung dragged Jungkook on top of him. Jungkook squeezed his knees in tight, gripping Taehyung’s hips. Taehyung worked him faster, and Jungkook spread his legs instead, pressing down on Taehyung’s body.

“S-stop,” Jungkook gasped, grabbing Taehyung’s wrist.

“What is it?”

“I want…” Jungkook swallowed. “I want more of you.”

Taehyung went into the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of oil. When he got back, Jungkook was lying on his side. His slender limbs glowed in the dim light. A wave of rain raked over the deck percussively.

“This will help, won’t it?”

“Yes, that’s perfect. Come here—”

Jungkook didn’t point out how miraculous it was that Taehyung knew they’d need some form of lubrication. He didn’t make any virgin jokes. He uncorked the oil, doused Taehyung’s hand in it, and pulled him back onto the cot.

“Gods, you have nice fingers—”

Jungkook writhed. The blanket was a tangled mess. Taehyung kissed Jungkook’s neck, sucking a mark into his skin. Jungkook crooked his head to the side, burying a hand in Taehyung’s hair, moaning softly.

And then Jungkook was whispering to him, _more,_ in a familiar breathy, whiny tone, and Taehyung took that to mean that he was ready for whatever it was he thought Taehyung could give him. Taehyung rolled on top of him, and Jungkook held Taehyung’s face in his hands, watching as Taehyung positioned himself.

And then Taehyung was pushing inside Jungkook’s body, and although they were one, now, he understood why Jungkook might have withheld his teasing. It wasn’t really that different to the way it felt before, pressed in close under the covers, exploring each other’s bodies, breathing each other’s breath. It wasn’t that different from the way it felt, standing on the cliffs overlooking the valley, knowing that Jungkook was seeing the same thing. 

Every moment spent with Jungkook was magical.

Taehyung moved his hips, lost in Jungkook’s neck, his flowery scent, his mouth. Jungkook wrapped his legs around him. Taehyung pushed closer, because even this wasn’t enough.

“More,” Jungkook begged.

“I know,” Taehyung consoled, in between abject moans of his own. “I know.”

And then Jungkook rolled on top of him, and maybe this was a little different, because Taehyung was really looking now; gazing upon Jungkook’s nakedness, watching the way his face contorted so perfectly, the way the muscles in his thighs rippled as he took what he needed.

How had Jungkook found his way into Taehyung’s heart so quickly? How was it that someone so beautiful, so intimidating and wondrous was the one to break down Taehyung’s fears and insecurities?

He was blinded by a surge of pleasure.

Jungkook pressed their foreheads together, working himself with his own hand. It wasn’t long before he was moaning, deep and brokenly, into Taehyung’s mouth… whispering his name, and little indecipherable things in a language that sounded lyrical and ancient to Taehyung’s ears…

And even then, it wasn’t enough.

They lay, tangled in the blankets, cloaked in the products of their passions. The rain thundered on the deck, transforming Taehyung’s cabin into a private world of its own. In that dark, secret place, it was impossible to escape what they’d just shared. It hung between them, twined itself around them, pulsed in their veins.

“How do you feel now?” Jungkook breathed. “Mister dwarf?”

“I feel so good,” Taehyung whispered. 

“Must you work?”

“Nay. It’s too dangerous to get near the river when it’s like this.” Taehyung lifted his head, peeking out the window. “No shortage of water for the mines, anyhow.”

Jungkook hummed in agreement. It was impossible to tell what time it was. The sky was too dark. A crack of thunder exploded overhead. Neither of them jumped.

“Who are you, Jungkook?”

Jungkook was silent. Taehyung waited, blinking at the ceiling. Part of him wished Jungkook would never answer that question. The world wavered on the edge of the fable they’d been inhabiting the past five days… but then, with an air of tragic finality, Jungkook took a deep breath, and at long last, he began his tale.

“I come from a land in the East. My mother rules over those lands, and though we are wood elves by blood, we live in caves just off the eastern shores. She’s known as Queen Jeon of the Sylvan Grove.”

“By my reckoning, that would make you a prince.”

“Ay… you’re not wrong.”

Taehyung let out a slow whistle.

“Hear me out, before you get any grand ideas. I’m the youngest of three brothers. It’s unlikely I’ll ever inherit the crown—not that I wish to. I’m not much for those big ideas. Archery, horseback riding, treehouse building… these were my preferred activities as a boy, and I’m afraid I haven’t much grown out of them.”

“That sounds like more fun to me anyhow.”

“Well yes… until something terrible happens.”

Taehyung was lying on his side, watching Jungkook speak. Jungkook gazed up at the ceiling. His brow dipped perfectly into his nose. His lips were like petals, spread slightly above the noble curve of his chin.

“There’s an entity across the water. It’s evil, and my mother means to fight it.”

“To hunt it down?”

“Ah…” Jungkook laughed humourlessly. “At one time, that might’ve been possible, but it has an entire empire of its own, now… I’m afraid, the only path ahead of us is war.”

Taehyung frowned. The unease swimming in Jungkook’s eyes was contagious.

“It began as an Illusionist, using false impressions to corrupt the humans in the surrounding towns, twisting them to do its bidding. It was more harmless then, as a wraithlike puppeteer, but then, by some stroke of misfortune, it discovered a source of magic in the lake. Its illusions were given life, and at once the terrible and violent things it showcased in the minds of its slaves became true.” Jungkook inhaled shakily. His hands were knotted together on his chest. “It’s built a fortress now. It’s tearing down the forest, and corrupting all kinds, not just humans… elves, halflings; even smaller magicfolk, like faeries, who are quite clever, have been drawn in…”

“That sounds awful.”

“My mother wasn’t going to do anything, but when she heard about the corruption of the elves, she decided to join the fight. She’s readying an army as we speak. My brothers will both be leading battalions across the water, and I… I shall, also.” 

“A foot army?”

“Some of us will ride horses around the shoreline, but yes, most shall go by foot. We don’t know how the horses will react to the entity’s magic. It feeds off chaos and pain, so naturally, the more harm it causes, the stronger it becomes. We’ve begun to sense its influence, even from across the lake—”

Taehyung pushed himself up on his forearm abruptly. “You could be killed.”

“I know.” Jungkook inhaled slowly. He tried to laugh, but all that came out was a little barking sound. “My mother held a feast, where we were to decide our roles in the thing. My brothers got into an argument, and my head began to spin, so I stepped out for some air. Then, the forest seemed to beckon to me—and I kept walking, and I didn’t stop, until I fell down your ravine.”

“That’s a long walk.”

“Yes, and I’d had a fair piece of wine.” Jungkook frowned at Taehyung. “I wouldn’t have fallen down that ravine under ordinary circumstances. I was the best in my year at tree-vaulting.”

Taehyung, who had watched Jungkook leaping about the ravine for the past five days, didn’t doubt it. He tried to tell him so, but when he opened his mouth to speak, his voice refused to sound. He continued to stare at Jungkook, even as a single tear dropped from his lashes onto the pillowcase.

“Why are you crying?” Jungkook reached up, running a thumb along Taehyung’s jaw. “Pretty dwarf. These aren’t your sorrows to bear.”

“I suppose you must go back.”

“I suppose…” Jungkook closed his eyes. “I suppose I must.”

Jungkook pressed his forehead to Taehyung’s chest. Taehyung ran his fingers through Jungkook’s hair, and shed a few more tears, which cascaded like drops of rain into an umber sea.

“You’ve helped me,” Jungkook said, in a laboured voice. “Watching the way you carry out your duties… I want to live my life with the same dignity. That entity is evil, and until I’ve done my part to protect my people, I’ll never be able to rest.”

“I’m proud of you,” Taehyung said, in between shuddering gasps, “though I don’t want you to die.”

“I’ll do my best not to.”

“I shouldn’t be crying. So much is on the line, and all I can think about is how much I’m going to miss you.”

“Don’t be ashamed.” Jungkook kissed Taehyung’s fingers. “In my mind, love is no less grand than battle or wealth. Keep reading your books, Taehyung. Keep dreaming of beautiful things. Will you do that for me?”

Taehyung nodded.

They cooked lunch together—or dinner, it was hard to say, given the rain—and Taehyung packed Jungkook a lunch for the next day. They sat at the table, drinking ale, feasting on fried fiddleheads and yams, and Taehyung decided to break out a bag of his prized mulberries, because it seemed like an appropriately momentous occasion.

They slept that night, wrapped in each other’s arms. It rained into the early morning, but by sunrise the next day, the storm had broken. Jungkook dressed himself in one of Taehyung’s tunics, his elven leggings, and his cloak. He clipped his bow to his back, loaded his quiver with the two shabby arrows Taehyung had retrieved, and strode out the door with Taehyung at his side.

They walked together, down into the valley, up another slope. Everything, the undergrown, the trees, the pinecones, seemed to glisten. The air was lush and herbal smelling. They passed a family of deer, and then an enormous tree, with a trunk twice as wide as Taehyung’s cabin.

Jungkook paused, turning to Taehyung.

Taehyung kept plodding on, refusing to meet his eye. Jungkook chased after him, and snatched up both his hands.

“Taehyung.”

Taehyung stared at the ground.

“I’d have you walk to the end of this forest with me, but I don’t want you hiking back in the dark.”

Taehyung bit his lip.

“Taehyung.” Jungkook tipped Taehyung’s face upwards. “Please, won’t you look at me?”

Taehyung looked at Jungkook’s pretty hands, laced through his. He looked at his slender wrists. His eyes roved up his arms, to his neck. There was a small, red bruise just under his jaw, courtesy of Taehyung’s mouth. He spent a moment studying his ear, and then he met his eye at last.

“Thank you,” he said, “for everything.”

“Oh, Taehyung.”

Jungkook kissed him. Taehyung pushed him against a tree. Jungkook wrapped his legs around Taehyung, gripping his shoulders—and then they were making their ways in opposite directions, only to run back into each other’s arms, filling the forest with a cacophony of gasped farewells once more.

It happened again, and then again, and then they were holding hands, pulling apart, slowly—Jungkook kissed Taehyung’s knuckles one last time—and then, they were really on their way.

The trees were so dense, they didn’t have to walk far before they lost sight of each other. Taehyung hurried over logs, ducking under mossy boughs. The sun was at a low angle, and Jungkook was right—if Taehyung didn’t hurry, he’d be caught in the forest after dark. He usually didn’t mind, but he was in a quadrant of forest he didn’t know as well as his own.

The sense of urgency was oddly comforting. It was like Jungkook was still there, smiling at him, nodding in approval at his good sense. He splashed his way through a shallow rill, mounted a ridge, and spotted his cabin in the distance.

He readied himself. Pushed through the door.

He looked to his right.

The cot was empty.

What small hope that, by some illogical stroke of luck, Jungkook would still be there dried up at last. He’d completed his mission to survive the dark woods. Taehyung was home, and Jungkook was gone; and life was to return to normal.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decided to post both chapters at once because, well, they're done; and they flow together better. Hope you're all hanging in there.

Taehyung awoke the next morning to the sound of finches chirping. He thought, really—he should be relieved. This conundrum with the elf was finally over. Namjoon, Seokjin, his brothers and sisters—nobody had found out what Taehyung had been up to the past seven days. He’d gotten away with it.

The problem was, whatever _it_ was no longer felt like something Taehyung wanted to hide.

He hiked his path during the days, dragging logs out of the river, clearing away overhanging branches and dead underbrush. He harvested yams, watered his herb garden, and, on his days off, trekked to the edge of the mines and drank ale with his friends in the pub.

He expected the situation would fix itself eventually. It was only a week of his entire life, after all. Jungkook was one of dozens of people he knew.

But two weeks later, when he awoke to a gentle rainfall, he dragged Jungkook’s ripped tunic out from under his pillow, and buried his nose in it. Jungkook’s scent was almost entirely gone. He ran his fingers over the woven sleeves, and in that moment, he knew the life he’d lived before was gone.

A younger dwarf named Soobin, freshly thirty, was assigned to Taehyung’s quadrant. Taehyung packed up his rubies, a generous bag of pine nuts, a couple books, and set off to the South. His parents were surprised, happy, and, to Taehyung’s surprise, also a little sad to see him go.

He spent the first few weeks sleeping in the trees, listening to large beasts lumbering around below, the hooting of owls and the howling of wolves. One night, the moon came out from behind a cloud, illuminating the canopy, and Taehyung felt like he was closer to the heavens than ever before. He wondered if elves always felt like this, up in their arboreal manors. 

Whenever he came across a town, he stayed the night, drinking in the pubs, doing his best to make new friends. Some who shared a drink with him were intrigued by his beauty. Others were simply looking for someone to talk to. Taehyung began to realize that although his world had been so small in the mountains, loneliness could follow you anywhere, from a solitary cabin in the woods to a bustling pub, to an endless plain, dancing with faerie lights.

Spring gave over to summer. Taehyung learned how to swordfight in a human village near the prairies. A maiden tried to teach him how to ride a horse, but even with a pony, Taehyung kept falling off. He continued to travel by foot, but the swordfighting came in handy later, when he was almost robbed in a tavern near the coast.

His boots wore out. He bought new ones, from a dwarf in a market. For all his wandering, he still had an inclination towards dwarfish craft; although, he did treat himself to an elven robe along the way. His legs grew stronger, his skin became tanned, but, much to his consternation, his face refused to grow more than a light stubble.

He told himself he wasn’t _running from_ so much as _chasing_. This wasn’t about Jungkook, but about the lessons Jungkook had taught him. He opened his arms to the world that had given birth to such a beautiful feeling. He hoped to find more.

Because, at the end of the day, Taehyung was a humble service worker, a hobbyist scholar—at best, a wandering romantic. Jungkook was a prince of high descent, a lieutenant in a powerful elvish army. Taehyung was a dwarf, and Jungkook was an elf; and although Taehyung saw many things during his adventures, he was never assured that two people from such divergent worlds could share a life together.

And so he danced to minstrel bands in summer festivals and fished with beggars on rotting piers. He played cards with dwarves in faraway mines, and tried to steal their trade secrets, and all the while, he hoped that Jungkook was alive and well.

Summer waned, and at the first blush of autumn, Taehyung decided it was time to go back.

He’d been gone for six months. His supply of rubies was running thin, and although he’d experienced many a thing, his heart ached for home. He thought about the groaning tables at harvest time, the fresh kegs of ale and the different flavours of mead. He thought about huddling down in his cabin next to the stove, reading a book, and all in all, it didn’t sound too bad.

Perhaps, after all his wandering, a dose of familiarity would complete his treatment. He would come full circle, and the emptiness in his heart would be healed at last.

Now, he knew which taverns to avoid, and not to sleep so close to the roads. He climbed trees at night, or rested in the crooks of trunks, concealed by his elvish cloak. He carried a sword, as well as several daggers. The closer to home he got, the longer the path felt, and in this sense, he felt he’d made the right choice in coming back.

At last, he hiked into his village to an uproarious greeting. Dwarves paused their work to examine his new attire and weaponry. His parents began preparing a feast at once. Namjoon came down from his cabin to say hello. They spent the night drinking and carousing. Taehyung told them his tales, and though he’d retained his mumbling, awkward way of speaking, they listened, raptly, as they had never done before.

He slept in his parents’ living room that night, and the next morning, he began the long hike back to his cabin. He’d been told that he could stay with Soobin until he decided what he wanted to do with himself. Taehyung was very certain he wanted to resume his usual duties, but his mother told him not to be hasty. You never knew what awaited you in life, she said—as if he hadn’t been roaming the world the past six months, as if he hadn’t seen that truth illustrated time and time again with his very eyes.

There was a certain skittishness in his demeanour.

He wanted to get back to the cabin, perhaps not for entirely rational reasons. He needed to step foot on the deck, to walk into the living room, because he needed to finally, at long last, put all of this behind him. He believed in some strange way that until he arrived at the place where it had begun, sealing the loop, so to speak, the hole in his heart would never quite close.

Soobin, it turned out, was on the tallish side too. He greeted Taehyung with a series of flustered bows. He’d already laid out a second cot. Taehyung stood in the living room for fifteen minutes, staring out the window.

He knew it then.

No matter how far he travelled, no matter what he learned, this ache in his heart would remain; and the only answer was to learn how to live with it.

***

“I’m going to the elvish realm.”

“What?” Taehyung’s father looked up from the coins he was counting. “When?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Taehyung—it’s the dead of winter.”

“It’s almost spring. I saw a finch the other day.”

Taehyung’s father smacked his lips. Puffs of pipe smoke trickled out his nostrils. “The elvish realm. Why are you going there?”

“I met someone from those lands.”

“You met an elf—when? During your journeys?”

“Not exactly,” Taehyung mumbled. As much as he knew he was going to get scolded for this, he couldn’t bring himself to lie. Not when it was the first time he’d spoken of Jungkook aloud in the past year. “He fell down the ravine last spring. He stayed with me for a while to mend his injuries.”

“Elves in our mountains!” Taehyung’s father smacked his lips a few times. “Really!”

“He was a nice elf, father.” Taehyung tried not to blush. “He needed to fight a war, so he may… he may not have survived, but I need to go see for myself.”

After another round of pipe puffing and lip smacking, Taehyung’s father nodded sternly. “Very well. But you’re telling your mother yourself.”

Taehyung made his rounds, telling first his mother, and then, on her request, each of his siblings, as well as the king himself. By the end of it, his face was so red he barely felt the cold, walking back to his cabin.

He struck out early the next day. He knew Jungkook’s lands were in the east. He’d purchased several maps on his journey, and while none made reference to elvish caverns or a Sylvan Grove—probably as they had been sketched by human hands—he was able to pick out the shortest route to the shore. 

There were mountains nearby… perhaps caves. There was a large forest. It seemed promising.

The woodland was quiet. Taehyung wore his warmest pair of boots and a thick cloak. He estimated it would take him just over three days to get there. He wondered how Jungkook had reached his ravine as quickly as he did; though, Jungkook _was_ quite athletic, and he was an elf after all.

He just wanted to know if Jungkook was alive. All he wanted to know was if Jungkook was alive. At this point, he didn’t know anything—the good or the bad. Really, for all he knew, the battle was still raging, and he was walking straight into a warzone. But the air ahead looked clear, and the forest unspoiled. He supposed an entity as powerful as the one Jungkook had described could cast illusions to make it seem that way, but nonetheless, he plodded along with his walking stick, listening to the sparrows chirping in the bushes.

He imagined this was what he would tell Jungkook, if they ever saw each other again.

_I just wanted to know if you were still alive._

It was a perfectly valid reason to pay the eastern shores a visit.

He contented himself with thoughts of Jungkook’s voice, his smile… his body. It had been almost a year since he’d seen him, but his psyche hadn’t allowed him to forget these things. He’d dreamt of Jungkook many times. 

He was broken from his revery by a rhythmic shuffling in the distance. 

He came to a stop. The shuffling got louder. Someone was tromping towards him, coming up quickly. The road was otherwise deserted. He eyed the forest askance, hand on his sword. Even if he tried to hide amongst the trees, there would be no time to cover his tracks. 

His heart was pounding.

He stepped out into plain view, drawing his sword.

“Who goes there?”

There was a pause.

“Shit’s alive, it can’t be—” 

Taehyung’s mouth dropped open.

He dropped his sword into the snow.

And began to run. 

All thoughts of casual greetings and logical explanations flew from his mind. The ache in his heart surged, threatening to swallow him whole.

“No,” Jungkook said, frozen in place. “No way.”

And then he began to run too.

And Taehyung began to laugh, even as tears began to sparkle in his eyes.

They hit each other with so much force they fell into the snow.

“You idiot,” Jungkook groaned. “Hiking in these woods, when it’s still winter—you could’ve frozen your ass, or your cock, or maybe your beautiful face—” 

Taehyung, personally, was beyond words.

He held onto Jungkook’s torso, with little care for the height difference, or the race difference, or whatever else might’ve stood between them, and allowed every ounce of yearning and fear that he’d been holding in for the past year to wrack through his body.

“Oh shush now,” Jungkook said, even as he sucked back sobs of his own. “Your crying is contagious.”

“You’re alive.” Taehyung ran his fingers over Jungkook’s face. A deep scar ran down from his temple to the side of his mouth. “Dear Grovogar, you’re alive. _Shit,_ Jungkook, what happened?” 

Jungkook flashed a grin. “We did it.”

“The entity is gone?”

“At long last.” Jungkook sighed. “We lost many lives.”

“Is your mother okay?”

“She’s fine.”

Taehyung let out the breath he’d been holding.

“My brothers are okay, too. But we couldn’t revive the humans and faeries they’d already corrupted.” Jungkook stared into the forest for a long moment. “My eldest brother is still recovering. He used an ancient spell to heal the lake, and that’s when the entity lost the source of its power.”

“Oh, dear.” Taehyung couldn’t stop staring at the scar. The material evidence of how close Jungkook had come to death made this moment all the more unlikely. “I’m so sorry you had to endure such things.”

“At least it has come to a close.”

“What are you doing on this road?”

“Oh.” Jungkook smiled. “I was coming to visit you.”

“Same as me, then.”

Jungkook burst into laughter. Taehyung smiled until his mouth stretched into something big and boxy.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” Jungkook ran his hand down Taehyung’s braid. “Truth be told, sometimes, on the battlefield, it felt like you were the only light that existed in this whole world.”

“I love you Jungkook,” Taehyung said, simply.

Jungkook laughed some more, even as another sob forced its way out of his throat. Taehyung pulled him closer by the front of his cloak. His lips were cold.

“What a strange situation we find ourselves in.” 

“I don’t care anymore,” Taehyung said. “The differences between us—I don’t give a damn.”

“Oh, that?” Jungkook gestured between them. “I have no problem with that. I was talking about the fact that we’re sucking face in the middle of the woods, in the dead of winter.”

“Oh, piss off.”

Jungkook snickered, wiping his eyes.

“While you were gone, I did some travelling of my own.”

“Oh yes?” Jungkook’s eyes lit up. “Where did you go?”

“I went south. I stayed away for six months, but all the while… I couldn’t stop thinking of you.” Taehyung frowned. “Never saw one dwarf who’d fallen in love with an elf, either.”

“Unoriginal.”

“Nor any princes taking interest in lowly vagabonds…”

“Damn the world.” Jungkook snatched up handfuls of Taehyung’s cloak. “I love you. I want you, and I’ll have you no matter what anyone says. That is…” His expression became uncertain. “If you want me.”

“I want you.” Taehyung couldn’t seem to say it with enough conviction, no matter how hard he tried. “I want you so badly. I’ve not been myself since we met.”

Jungkook sighed. “It’s the same for me.”

Taehyung rearranged his grip. Jungkook pushed a leg between Taehyung’s, and sighed again.

“If it weren’t for all this frost, I’d strip you down and make love to you right now.”

“Perhaps…” Taehyung blushed. “We could find shelter somewhere.”

“If we go back my way, we can stay in the caves a while. You can meet my mother. If we hike west, I get to meet yours.”

“Shall we play a game of riddles to see who goes first?”

“Yes, let’s. Although I’m not overly concerned with the outcome.” Jungkook’s scar followed the contours of his face when he smiled. “In my mind, we’ve got all the time in the world.”

***

They arrived at the mines sometime around midnight. Because he wasn’t sure Soobin could handle not only Taehyung, who was supposed to be halfway to the elvish lands at this point, but also an actual elf knocking down his door at this hour, Taehyung snuck them into the shed behind his parents’ cabin instead. A fierce wind had picked up.

Taehyung looked doubtfully at the musty bags stacked around them. “Perhaps we should wake my parents up after all.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Jungkook took Taehyung’s hand. “I’m ready to face whatever chaos greets us in the morn, but I need you to myself tonight.”

Taehyung picked Jungkook up and set him on a stack of burlap sacks. They kissed until their lips were no longer chilled.

“Let me get these off you.”

“Give me a second—”

Jungkook fumbled with the buttons on Taehyung’s cloak. Taehyung was busy working away on Jungkook’s tunic, determined not to rip it this time. Jungkook couldn’t seem to stop giggling. Taehyung cradled his face in his hands, kissing the tip of his pointed ear.

“Is this real?”

“I think so,” Taehyung said softly. “I’ve dreamt of you many times, and this feels somewhat different.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Moments after the final article of clothing hit the dusty floor, they both began to shiver. Jungkook grabbed Taehyung and dragged him up on the sacks. Taehyung snatched his cloak up off the floor and draped it over them as a blanket.

“Are you tired?”

“No.”

“How do you feel about fucking me on these sacks?”

“There’s no oil.”

“I’ll use spit.”

“ _Jungkook_.”

“I’ve been through war, and it’s been a year since I’ve seen you. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time.”

“I want to hear about your past, and all your lovers.” Taehyung slid his hand down Jungkook’s stomach, rock hard muscle encased in velvet skin. “I want to know if you’ve ever been in love before.”

“Nothing like this.”

Taehyung spat on his fingers. Jungkook’s laugh was breathless this time.

“I couldn’t let you go,” Jungkook whispered harshly. “You stayed with me, through it all—”

Taehyung knew that he could not begin to conceive of the things Jungkook had endured in the past year. Jungkook was good at making light of things, but Taehyung could sense it—how he was the same Jungkook as before, but also slightly changed. Taehyung wanted to coax those difficult stories out, to use his dwarfish ingenuity to find little ways to ease Jungkook’s pain, but for now, he honoured Jungkook’s wishes, and fucked him on the sacks—as gently as he could, provided the circumstances.

“C’mon, show me how much you missed me.” Jungkook squeezed Taehyung’s hips between his thighs. “I can take it, I swear upon Vatumal’s ancient throne that I can take it—”

“I forgot about that mouth of yours.”

“I most certainly did _not_ forget about that cock of yours, now please, Taehyung—”

Taehyung gripped Jungkook’s ass, biting at his plump lower lip, and soon enough, Jungkook’s crooked begging devolved into choked moans, muffled in the cloak, lest the wind wasn’t as good a buffer as it seemed.

“I love you,” Jungkook gasped.

“I love you too,” Taehyung gasped back.

Jungkook said it again. It didn’t seem likely to get old. 

By the end of it, they were both warm enough that sleeping the rest of the night in the shed didn’t seem like such a horrible prospect after all. Jungkook drifted off with his head resting on Taehyung’s shoulder. Jungkook’s sweet scent mingled with the smell of potatoes, dust, and musty wood.

Taehyung’s mother thundered into the shed early the next morning to refill the larder’s stock of beans.

“So this is the friend you were talking about, I’m supposing?”

Taehyung’s father was puffing on a pipe. Taehyung’s mother was also puffing on a pipe. A large pot of stewed beans steamed in the centre of the table. Taehyung and Jungkook were steadily making their way through their second helpings.

“Didn’t seem very friendly to me, what was going on, on those sacks,” Taehyung’s mother said.

“We were just sleeping,” Taehyung mumbled.

“So that’s how friends sleep, now is it?”

“Well…” Taehyung paused. “I’m not sure if _friends_ is the best way to describe…”

“Doesn’t exactly hit the mark,” Jungkook said.

There was a moment of silence.

“Taehyung mentioned something about a war,” Taehyung’s father cut in. “I see you didn’t die.”

“No,” Jungkook said, wiping his mouth. “I’m quite alive.”

“And now your intention is to… spend time with our son?”

“Yes, I was thinking so.”

“An elf…” Taehyung’s father itched his nose. “In our house…”

“Aren’t elves supposed to hate dwarves?” Seokjin asked. He was sitting on the sofa, clutching a goblet of mead. 

“Oh, I love dwarves,” Jungkook said, through his mouthful. “They’re lovely.”

“He knows how to eat, I’ll give him that,” Taehyung’s mother said.

They ate their way through the rest of the beans. Taehyung’s father suggested that they move into the cabin with Soobin, but Taehyung assured him that that was a very bad idea.

“We can’t build you a cabin of your own until the ground thaws.” Taehyung’s mother picked her chin in thought. “I suppose Seokjin has an extra shed…”

“I’d need to clear out the tools,” Seokjin said. “Wouldn’t be too hard. Half of them are rusted out anyway.”

“We could drag in a cot, and maybe a little stove,” Taehyung’s father said.

Taehyung sipped mead, and enjoyed the warmth of the fire, and remarked upon the fact that over the course of all his travels, from tavern to pier, from prairie to canyon, he’d never seen anything as remarkable as this—a family of dwarves sitting around, musing about how they were going to accommodate their son and the elf he’d brought home, mere hours after walking in on the two of them sleeping together.

And Jungkook… 

Was sitting at his table. Warming his hands on his parents’ hearth. Chatting with his brother.

Taehyung dried his eyes on his sleeve.

Jungkook reached over and gave his knee a squeeze. Taehyung smiled a wobbly, closed-lipped smile. Seokjin rolled his eyes, Jungkook giggled, and Taehyung’s lips broke open as he giggled too.

“Well, Taehyung.” His father blinked, rearranging his hands in his lap. “I can’t say that I understand this quite yet, but I’m glad you’ve finally found somebody who seems to understand you.”

“And a prince, at that,” Taehyung’s mother said. “I bet you have all kinds of interesting baubles in your land.”

“Ma,” Taehyung chided.

“Oh, I’m sure I could bring something back for you, Mrs. Kim,” Jungkook said. “We’ve been known to have a gem or two lying around.”

“How interesting…”

Taehyung shook his head.

“I still can’t believe you fell into the ravine,” Seokjin said.

“I assure you, I’m quite nimble most of the time.”

“He really is,” Taehyung said.

Seokjin made a face.

“How long are you planning on staying?” Taehyung’s mother asked.

Jungkook looked at Taehyung. Taehyung looked at Jungkook.

“I’m not sure,” Taehyung said.

“I honestly hadn’t thought much past getting here,” Jungkook said.

“Well.” Taehyung’s mother refilled their glasses. “You’re both welcome to stay as long as you like…” She hesitated. “Baubles or not.”

The last part clearly pained her, but it seemed genuine.

It was Jungkook’s turn to dry his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. Another tear spilled down his cheek. “I’m not sure why this is happening.”

Taehyung pulled him into a hug. The others cleared away the plates, bustling around, giving them a moment of privacy.

“What do you need?” Taehyung asked softly.

“You.” Jungkook exhaled shakily, squeezing Taehyung’s hand. “Just you.”

They spent the night on his parents’ couch. The next day, they helped Seokjin clear out the spare shed. They dragged in a shelf and loaded it with blankets, dried berries and nuts, and a couple stacks of Taehyung’s books. With a cot in the corner, a stove burning toastily next to the door, and several lamps, it was actually quite homely.

“If you need anything, just knock,” Seokjin said, in a moment of rare seriousness.

“How can I repay you?” Jungkook asked.

“Don’t think twice about that,” Seokjin said. “It sounds like you’ve been through enough for the time being.”

Seokjin, much to his own surprise, found himself locked in a firm hug with an elf a moment later. 

The dwarves were gruff around Jungkook at first. Brawny and beardy as they were, it was hard to ignore the way he towered above them. There was a tendency to treat him a little daintily, biting back their curses, speaking with awkward politeness, or not speaking at all. This tendency was short-lived, however, given Jungkook’s readiness to speak his mind. Within weeks, he was drinking in the pub with the rest of them, throwing around words that made Taehyung’s ears burn with embarrassment… and maybe a little pride.

Although he was an elf of high descent, Jungkook seemed perfectly content to sleep away his nights in the tiny shed. They took turns reading to each other. They cooked soups in Seokjin’s kitchen. They helped Soobin repair the porch. After a month, Namjoon took them down into the mountain and gave Jungkook a tour of the mines, and it was at that point that Taehyung knew they counted him as one of their own.

He wasn’t really surprised. Taehyung loved Jungkook so much, it was harder for him to conceive of someone _not_ liking Jungkook than the reverse. Jungkook was charming. He won people over, the way he’d won Taehyung over when Taehyung pulled him out of the river that spring day last year.

“I love you,” he said, one morning, out of the blue.

Jungkook crawled over from where he was knitting and rested his chin on Taehyung’s knee. “Is that so, Mister Dwarf?”

Taehyung nodded.

Jungkook wrapped his arms around Taehyung’s leg, embracing it like it was a person of its own.

“I love you so much,” Jungkook muttered, “sometimes I don’t know what to do.” 

Taehyung tsked, setting down his book. Today he was reading to Jungkook about ancient beasts of the Braedon Woods. Yesterday it had been a chronicling of piracy in the south.

“Sometimes I’m not sure I deserve any of this.”

Taehyung pulled Jungkook into his lap.

“Where are these dark thoughts coming from?”

“I always have dark thoughts.” Jungkook played with Taehyung’s lower lip, squishing it between his thumb and forefinger. “But they’re starting to lessen.”

“Are they really?”

“Yes.” Jungkook brushed his thumb over Taehyung’s chin. “I would like to thank you for being so patient with me.”

“ _Jungkook_.”

“Sometimes I wonder how something as horrible as the entity could have existed. But then I think about how I feel about you, and the fact that your family has been so kind, and it seems to balance it out a little.”

“Jungko—” 

“I love you so much,” Jungkook interrupted, in that high, strained voice he sometimes got when he was really serious about something. “I need you to know.”

Taehyung picked Jungkook up and brought him to the cot. They’d tried many things together, since moving into Seokjin’s shed, but today, Taehyung undressed Jungkook slowly. He kissed Jungkook’s chest, right over his heart. There was a second scar on his left shoulder, where the blade had slipped after grazing Jungkook’s face. Taehyung kissed that too, then he undressed himself, while Jungkook watched through tormented eyes.

“Can you fuck me?”

“Of course, Gukkie.”

Taehyung moved slowly, holding Jungkook’s head in his hands. Tears trickled down the sides of Jungkook’s face. He sniffled, and then let out a little laugh.

“I’m going to be so stuffed up.”

“I’ll boil some tea after this.”

“I love you Tae.” A feathery moan rose in Jungkook’s throat. “Do you understand?”

“I do.” Taehyung took a moment to catch his breath. His hair was untied, and it fell around Jungkook’s face like a curtain around a four-poster bed. “I promise you, I do.”

Jungkook rolled them onto their sides. Taehyung could feel Jungkook’s thigh flexing and straining underneath his waist. He propped himself up on his forearm, pushing a little closer. They stayed like that, moving leisurely, whispering little oaths and pleas, until the early sunset cast darkness over the mountains.

***

And so it was, that Kim Taehyung of the Kim Mines and Jeon Jungkook of the Sylvan Grove came to meet once more.

They road out the rest of the winter in the homey hospitality of the dwarves, and then, when the mountains began to thaw, they struck out for Jungkook’s caves. Though their kin were initially surprised by their bond, it didn’t take long in their presence to see that what they shared wasn’t as unlikely as it seemed.

Taehyung paid visit to the mines many times over, but he never stayed there very long. It seemed his parents’ prophecy had come true, if a little tardy in its arrival, and his hunger for adventure persisted. He and Jungkook travelled the world. They sailed through islands in the warmer climes, swimming on beaches the colour of Jungkook’s eyes. They studied the secrets of botany, hunted mountain ranges for rare herbs and funguses, and sought out the unicorn living in the fallen lands, although they never found her. They lived out their later years in the forests around the Sylvan Grove, never quite forsaking their rustic beginnings. They built many cabins. They cooked many stews. They bathed under moonlight and made love on beds of forest moss.

Mostly they were unchanged, although in time, Jungkook’s laugh lines didn’t fade quite so quickly after he finished smiling, and Taehyung’s braid became freckled with grey. Lucky they were, that they were both of long-lasting blood. And so, after many long years, when the time came for Jungkook to pass to the Other Lands, he built a boat of yew, and together they sailed across those empyreal waters to whatever awaited them beyond.

**_FIN_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi :)
> 
> Twitter & Instagram: @VanishedElf


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